Grace

In these days when apparently many families do not eat together when do they talk? A German friend said that his mother was not a bit grateful to be given a dishwasher for Christmas. She said the only time she managed to talk to her 3 teenagers was when they were drying the dishes!

The old custom of saying Grace before or after a meal is another casualty. I was taught to say "Thank you GOD for my good dinner, please Mummy may I get down?" My daughter, having watched me cook, said very logically "Thank you Mummy for my good dinner, please God may I get down?" The common courtesy of asking or excusing oneself on leaving the table doesn't apply if you have a takeaway on your lap in front of the telly.

Does it matter? Discuss.

Bottles

Does anyone else have difficulty with opening a childproof container?I don't think the manufacturers realise that these things are also Grandmaproof. I have to wait until some strong young man (preferably 64 or under) hoves over the horizon and rides like the knights of old to my rescue. It is frustrating to have a bottle into which I cannot get!

Whilst I am joining the ranks of Grumpy Old Women why are the things I want in the supermarket on such a high shelf that I have to borrow a complete stranger's husband to reach things for me?

And another thing - no perhaps I'd better stop there or we shall be here all night.

Squirrels

We are being visited by a very persistent grey squirrel who runs across the conservatory roof and leaps up on to the balcony. I am wary of squirrels. At our last house in Seaford Squirrels cost us a great deal of money in repairs.

A roof tile had been dislodged in a storm and a family of squirrels had made a home in our roof. We could hear them running about above us. There was a danger they might bite through the electric cables and set the house on fire so we had to get rid of them. We were told they did not like the smell of moth balls so Don bought the local shop's entire stock - a large bagful and pushed them into the roof space. After a day or so we saw the squirrels emerge and they didn't come back!
When I told my friend she said "How did Don manage to hit them?".

Wild Honey

To revert to my theme on bees- until I read a review of a book by a young travel writer called Piers Moore Ede and his global search I had forgotten our quest for wild honey in Sri Lanka.

Whilst staying with our friends the Jayatissas in Galle we stopped the car in a forest on the way home from lunch and a young nephew who was with us in the car was despatched into the trees where presumably some apiarist lived and came back with a litre bottle of dark brown liquid that Mrs. Jayatissa said was wild honey. We ate it for breakfast next morning on curd and very nice it was too.

Welsh National Opera

As my family know I have always been an ardent fan of French & Italian light opera. I found Wagner too heavy going, without the fireworks of Rossini or the lilting melodies of Bellini and Donizetti. Last night, featuring the Welsh baritone, Bryn Terfel, the BBC relayed 5 hours of Wagner's "The Mastersingers of Nuremberg" from the Royal Albert Hall. Imagine my surprise when I started to watch at 7p.m. and found myself still watching at midnight! Am I converted?

French Invasion

It has been mayhem here this week. Yelling, laughimg, rushing about, playing silly games, snakes and ladders and sinking down exhausted. That's just me! I have been aided and abetted by 3 of my 4 grandsons who have been holidaying here.Small children have endless energy and it seems French children even more so!

One small triumph. I managed to persuade one small reluctant eater that a daily glass of milk, straight from the fridge with a straw would make him grow into a fine, big chap like his big brother.

All quiet on the Hove front so far today. Everybody is out.